New Zealanders still feel it's hard to land a job at the moment
Confidence in the labour market had a slight rebound in the September 2026 quarter, but New Zealanders still believe it's hard to find a job in the wake of an 11-year-high unemployment rate.
The Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose by 3.2 points to 86.3 in the September quarter, but the gain was not enough to offset the 12.5-point drop recorded in the June 2026 quarter.
"The last two readings have been the lowest in the survey since it began in September 2024," the report read.
Perceptions of job opportunities remained at "very weak levels," with a net 60% of respondents feeling that it's hard to find a job at the moment.
"That was basically unchanged from the previous quarter, and was the softest readings since the mid-2010s," the report read. "This measures had been improving prior to the Middle East conflict, but has since softened again."
The report noted that the recent readings are broadly consistent with the unemployment rate, which is currently at an 11-year high of 5.6%, according to Statistics New Zealand data.
"We expect that the current 5.6% will mark the peak in the unemployment rate for this cycle, with a gradual decline starting from the second half of this year," the Westpac report read.
"However, it remains very much a 'low-fire, low-hire' environment. Job vacancies remain well below pre-Covid levels, and long-term unemployment has been a growing feature of this cycle to an unusual degree."
Job confidence rises for the year ahead
Confidence, however, grew when it came to the outlook for the year ahead.
Expected job opportunities rose to a net -22%, up from the record low of net -30% in the June 2026 quarter.
Perceptions of job security were also slightly up at a net -6% in the September quarter, up from a net -10% in the June quarter.
"Confidence rose among both young and old workers, but was little changed for those in the 30-49 age group," the report read.
"Middle- and high-income earners saw the biggest increases in perceived job security, having seen large declines in the previous quarter."
By region, employment confidence rose in eight of the 11 regions in the survey.
Northland saw the biggest gains after previously being the most downbeat region, while Nelson, Marlborough, and the West Coast saw slightly lower employment confidence.
The Taranaki/Manawatu region saw relatively steady employment confidence since June, but saw a sharp decline in September.
"The South Island as a whole remains slightly more confident than the North Island," the report read.
"Strong export prices have been providing a boost to the rural regions over the last year, benefiting the South Island in particular, but more recently there have been signs that the pickup in the economy has been broadening."
